ImaginativePRO Blog

ZHU ZHU TOYS ARE AN INSTANT HIT WITH KIDS, ACHIEVE ICONIC COLLECTIBLE STATUS

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Zhu Zhu Pets, the inexplicably cute robotic hamsters that have become this year's overnight holiday toy sensation, are selling out across the country.

A caller to the Times Square Toys R Us in Manhattan on a recent Wednesday morning was informed that the store was out of the hamsters and wouldn't be getting its next shipment until Friday. Wal-Mart and Target shelves are also bare of the toys, analysts said.

The National Retail Federation recently listed Zhu Zhu among the top 10 holiday toys. Zhu Zhus are even showing up on eBay, priced at $60 to $100. The runaway success has created a dream come true for Cepia, the small, St. Louis-based company that created the motorized pets.

Cepia founder Russell Hornsby, 56, who got his start in the toy industry as a designer for Mattel 35 years ago, became convinced that the toys would be a home run after watching thousands of YouTube videos of live hamsters.

These robotic hamsters have names like Mr. Squiggles and Pipsqueak.

The plush Zhu Zhu hamsters, which sell for $9.99 apiece and have names like Mr. Squiggles and Pipsqueak, look remarkably lifelike. They wiggle their noses and shimmy and shake through their hamster habitats just like the real thing.

Working with a factory in Shenzhen, China, Hornsby designed the first Zhu Zhu prototype in November 2008 and then began the uphill battle of trying to convince retailers to place orders. That was during the depths of the financial crisis and many big chains were unwilling to gamble on an unknown product, but Hornsby eventually convinced Toys R Us to test-market Zhu Zhu -- which means "little pig" in Chinese -- in a handful of Phoenix stores. All the Zhu Zhus sold out in two weeks.

"It was so hot, we couldn't believe it," says Gerald Storch, the CEO of Toys R Us. "We immediately bought as much as we could."

Although instantly popular, Zhu Zhu could have easily failed as thousands of new toys do each year. The sudden success of Zhu Zhu comes after a long career of ups and downs for Hornsby.

After Mattel, Hornsby worked for a series of companies, including Hyman Products, which sold novelty items, such as pieces of the Berlin Wall. In 1981, Hornsby founded Trendmasters -- a toy company that held the license to make toys under the "Star Wars" and "Godzilla" names among others -- and sold it to larger rival, Jakks Pacific (JAKK), in 2001.

A year later, Hornsby started Cepia to make lawn and garden products such as automated trigger sprayers. Hornsby applied some of the technology he had developed for the garden products to Zhu Zhu, which helped give the animals their lifelike quality.

"What makes them so great is that they are unpredictable," says his daughter Natalie Hornsby, 23, who heads Cepia's marketing department. The underside of each hamster is covered in molded plastic -- called bump codes -- that keeps the furry creatures from repeating the same moves over and over again.

 

Once orders for Zhu Zhu started pouring in, Hornsby turned to his investors -- mainly family members, including his oldest daughter and wife, who also work for the company -- to raise more money. Natalie says Cepia, which has 16 employees, expects to sell as many as 10 million hamsters this year, and predicts Zhu Zhu could be a $500 million product by 2010.

"It's the single biggest hit he's had," says Needham & Company analyst Sean McGowan, who has known Hornsby for 10 years. McGowan points out that Zhu Zhu had an underground following from the very beginning, despite limited advertising, while other hot toys didn't become popular until celebrities called them out. Fisher-Price's Elmo, for instance, took off only after Rosie O'Donnell featured the doll on her television show.

Hornsby, who was traveling in Asia and unavailable for comment, is starting to attract interest from large toy companies, some of which have floated potential offers to buy Cepia, sources said.

Natalie also declined to comment on a possible sale of the company, but she said her father is a born risk-taker: Once when Hornsby was in Las Vegas, a friend of his remarked on the fact that he wasn't gambling. "I don't need to gamble in Vegas," he told the friend. "I gamble every day of my life." 

COMMENTARY:   The failure rate among new toys is incredibly high, something like 94% never make it to retail shelves. 

This is a great example of an inventor doing their homework, identifying the market need and designing a product that meets that need.  Design is very important.  The Apple iPhone was not the first cell phone, but their leading edge engineering and unique design, which is ideally suited for Internet surfing, is what differentiates them, and has made them a leader in the smartphone category.

Instead of a static toy like most dolls, the Zhu Zhu is a able to move unpredictably.  You just don't know what the furry Zhu Zhu's are going to do next.  Zhu Zhu's have different names, come in different colors and include add-ons like homes with different rooms, plastic tubes or connectors to connect the different rooms, Zhu Zhu cars, turnstile wheels, skateboards and the furry creatures can be enclosed in plastic globes. 

The kids love real hamsters, but the parents often object to having a live animal in the home.  The Zhu Zhu eliminates that concern. Problem solved (see the above video).  I can now understand their universal appeal.  They are so cute.

In the past, you had to spend a lot on advertising and promotions to get the attention of the consumer, but we live in a different era, and the Zhu Zhu has benefitted from viral marketing and the result is mass appeal.  The fact that they are selling for ten times their suggested retail price on eBay, shows that these toys have achieved collectible status, like the Star Wars, Star Trek and Transformers toys.   

The Zhu Zhu is a status toy.  There is nothing else like it in the marketplace.  When you reach that plateau, my fear is that adults will buy the toys, jack up the prices, and the kids and their parents will become targets for financial exploitation.  I just hope that Toys R Us and other retailers place a maximum limit on the number of Zhu Zhu's that can be purchased at any one time.    

Courtesy of an article dated November 23, 2009 appearing in CNN Money

NASA EMBRACES SOCIAL MEDIA, ASTRONAUTS OPEN TWITTER ACCOUNTS, TWEETS FROM OUTER SPACE

NASA's move to give 100 Twitter users front-row seats at the Kennedy Space Center for the Nov. 16 liftoff of the space shuttle Atlantis propelled the US space agency into the stratosphere of trending topics the day before the launch. The 100 tweeters, also known as tweeps, attracted more than 150,000 followers, making the event the third-most-popular topic for the day.

In an experience usually reserved for more traditional media, the tweeps also received behind-the-scenes tours of the space-center facility and spoke with NASA astronauts, technicians, engineers and managers.

The FEMA Model

In general, the American government's use of social media is growing. For example, the US federal disaster agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is stepping up its use of social networking sites Facebook and Twitter to both inform and gather information, according to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. Since Fugate arrived on the job six months ago, he has been emphasizing these channels in its communications with the public (via AFP). Fugate himself tweets under the name craigatfema.

A Larger Goal about a Valuable Mission

NASA has a slightly different goal in mind with its social media publishing - it wants to remind the public that its missions are valuable despite recent trends toward cost cutting.  "NASA has been under considerable financial pressure, as many question the value of sinking cash into space travel," writes BloggingStocks.com. "So, it has to get creative in justifying its existence … and in generating excitement about the agency and what it does."

Other NASA social media events include the first NASA Tweetup at the beginning of the year held by the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA headquarters held its first Tweetup on July 21, followed by another on Sept. 24 that featured the STS-127 space-shuttle crew.

On Oct. 21, it again held a smaller Tweetup, allowing 35 Tweeps to talk with astronauts Nicole Stott and Jeff Williams aboard the International Space Station via a live downlink. These efforts paid off on Sept. 23 when Mike Massimino (@Astro_Mike) - NASA's first astronaut to tweet - reached 1 million followers.

Since Massimino's first Tweet in May, at least 12 other NASA astronauts have set up Twitter accounts, including:

• Jeff Williams, space station Expedition 21 flight engineer and future station commander who is providing updates, including video and still imagery, about his six-month stay in orbit;

• Expedition 21 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott, also aboard the station;

• Astronauts and twins Mark and Scott Kelly, slated to command the space shuttle and the International Space Station, respectively, next year;

• Astronaut Jose Hernandez, who began NASA's first bilingual Twitter account in July about his preparation for last month's STS-128 shuttle mission. He tweets about his post-flight activities in English and Spanish.

COMMENTARY:  Front row seat just to see a Space Shuttle launch?  Tst, tst  Come on people. I want to sleep in Lincoln's bedroom in the White House.

Courtesy of an article dated November 20, 2009 appearing in Marketing VOX

INC 500: 91% OF FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES NOW USE SOCIAL MEDIA

A new study shows that the use of social media is particularly prevalent among Inc. 500 companies and provides new insight on the role social media plays in running a business.

For the third consecutive year, the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, has conducted a study on social media usage among Inc. 500 companies. The 2009 results confirm the upward trend of social media adoption rates among some of the fastest growing private companies, and provide a useful comparison of social media trends from 2007 on.

This year's study, which was conducted by researchers Nora Ganim Barnes and Eric Mattson, iincluded 148 of the 2009 Inc. 500 companies. As with the past two years, respondents were asked about their usage and familiarity with six types of social media tools, including blogging, podcasting, online video, social networking, message boards, and wikis. In the past year, social media usage by the Inc. 500 has grown, with 91 percent of companies reporting that they use at least one social media tool, compared to 77 percent in the 2008 survey. And, of the six social media categories, the one that continues to be the most familiar to Inc. 500 companies is social networking, with 75 percent saying that they are "very familiar with it."

To account for the rise in popularity of newer types of social media, this year's study also asked respondents about their interaction with sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace. Not surprisingly, the study found that many of the companies have already embraced these sites for running their business, with Twitter being the most widely used of them at 52 percent of the total respondents. While Twitter and other social networking sites have seen significant growth in comparison to previous years, other social media tools such as message boards and podcasting declined in the level of usage. But despite lower usage of some tools in 2009, many companies that have not yet incorporated social media in their business operations say they intend to do so in the future. For example, 44 percent of companies without a company blog say they plan to start one, and 36 percent intend to use some form of online video.

Eric Mattson, CEO of research firm Financial Insite and one of the head researchers in the study, believes that the high reception to social media among Inc. 500 companies is significant for several reasons. "Inc. 500 companies are focused on doing anything they can to grow faster and social media is an innovative tool that may give them an edge over their competition," say Mattson. Additionally, he says their status as private companies plays a role. "There is less implication for private companies using social media – they don't have to worry about the stock market going up or down based on someone's Tweet," says Mattson. "And often in smaller organizations, there is more room for innovation because it requires less processes to adopt."

In looking at the data from a longitudinal standpoint, it's clear that it's not just the level of social media usage that's significant, but the way in which businesses are using it. As in years past, respondents were asked if they were monitoring their company name or brands in the social media space, and 68 percent said yes, compared to 50 percent just two years ago. Lastly, companies were asked for the first time if they are using social media to communicate with vendors and suppliers, and 34 percent reported using social networks as a way to communicate, while 26 percent cited Twitter as an important vehicle for communication. "From a big picture trend standpoint, these results show how prevalent and widespread social media is becoming in every aspect of business now," says Mattson.

COMMENTARY:  I wonder who the remaining 9% of Fortune 500 companies are?  Trying to think of a company that would not benefit from social media or networking.  Any thoughts?

Courtesy of an article dated November 25, 2009 appearing in Inc Magazine

DEALING WITH THE ANGRY CLIENT BEFORE IT GETS OUT OF HAND

It strikes fear in the hearts of marketers worldwide: the dreaded online consumer complaint that goes viral. What's a good company to do when one angry customer threatens to destroy its image? Is there any way to win her back once she's decided she hates you?

Some interesting new research looks into customer anger—specifically, the desire for revenge, which is to be most feared online—and offers some guidance for "hated" companies.

First, the researchers examined whether online complainers hold a grudge over time. The short answer: Yes, they do. But here's an important caveat: In general, an angry consumer's desire for revenge decreases over time.

Second, the authors examined the "moderation effect of a strong relationship" on how customers hold a grudge. Interestingly, they found that "over time, the revenge of strong-relationship customers decreases more slowly." Oh, swell.

So, what's a good company to do? Here's the authors' advice based on their research:

Offer an immediate apology to loyal (high-relationship) customers. Following a complaint from a loyal customer, "quickly offer them a recovery that includes an acknowledgment of responsibility, an apology, and a 'normal' compensation in the form of a gift certificate or replacement," they advise. They add: "[F]irms need not 'go beyond the call of duty' with high-relationship-quality customers, who seem to be more interested in the social than the economic value of a recovery." (Finally, some good news.)

Fuhgettabout the "low-relationship-quality" complainers. The researchers conclude that winning back less-loyal consumers is too costly to warrant compensation, since their need for revenge generally dissipates after five weeks, anyway.

The Po!nt: If she's loyal, show you're sorry. A loyal customer who feels wronged can be a nightmare, but a quick and sincere apology may quench her thirst for revenge.

Source: "When Customer Love Turns into Lasting Hate: The Effects of Relationship Strength and Time on Customer Revenge and Avoidance," by Yany Grégoire, Thomas M. Tripp and Renaud Legoux. Journal of Marketing, 2009.

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COMMENTARY:  I kind of, sort of agree that sometimes you have to bite your tongue and apologize to a customer or client.  But, there's a cavaet to this.  It has to be a win-win for both the service-provider and the client.  This cannot be an all-or-nothing, one-sided affair that favors the client or customer.      

There is such a thing as the completely unreasonable and self-serving client who is never going to be satisifed, no matter what you do.  Incidentally, no amount of ass-kissing is going to work either. Sometimes you have to stand your ground, particularly if the client is dead wrong or unreasonable and this is causing you to lose money or screw up your entire schedule. 

Sometimes customers or clients throw temper tantrums that are simply designed to extort concessions out of you.  Most of these have to do with money. This comes from a DIY book for dummies that recommends some sneaky strategies to squeeze a discount or price reduction from a retailer or service-provider.  Okay, it works, sometimes. I've used this tactic myself, only without the temper tantrum.  A little giving in, I don't mind, but when it gets to the ridiculous, you have to stand your ground.

As a consultant you need to set the boundaries or limitations for the project and services you provide. Consultants are independent contractors, but some clients think your are their employee, and that you will be available at their whim. Make sure the client understands your availability, the specific services you will provide, the costs for each service, the total cost for the project, completion dates, and set specific boundaries for the project. 

No architect, builder, ad agency, designer, CPA or other service professional that I know would take on a client without having the client review, approve and signoff on the concepts, schedules, plans, costs, expenses, work performed and limitations of the project.. Make sure that you and the client mutually agree to the scope of the project and the responsibilities of each. If the client starts to drift away from the original scope of the project, makes radical changes not originally contracted for, or fails to live up to their responsibilities, you are justified in charging extra, and if necessary put a halt to the project.  Not doing this can be very costly, something that some clients simply do not understand.  I actually had this happen a couple of times, but because I stood firm, was able to satisfactorily resolve the issues.                

I make my living giving professional advice on a broad range of business issues. If the client is not going to listen or act irresponsibly, that's when the problems usually arise.  This is why it is very important to qualify and feel out the client, determine if there is good chemistry and communication, before they become a client. Finally, make sure you know how your are going to be paid and that the client understands your billing and payment terms.  Get everything in writing. Be wary of any client or customer that refuses to sign a written agreement. 

You cannot expect to satisfy every client or customer, and unfortunately the Internet, and its viral capabilities, can often hurt your reputation.  In summary, if you've done a good job, and the client or customer never formally complained, and can document everything, why should a client or customer compalin?  Offer small concessions and apologies. Don't over do things.  Don't make yourself into the bad guy.  Don't shy away from confrontation. Be firm and stand your ground. If you performed to the best of your abilities, met the requirements of the agreement, this will go a long way to avoid some of the problems I just mentioned above.      

Courtesy of an article dated November 18, 2009 appearing in MarketingProf  

   

STARTUP eduFIRE LAUNCHES $29 PER MONTH EDUCATIONAL BUSINESS CHANNEL

Online Classes Fit Your Busy Schedule

Learning is easy with top instructors. Learn anytime from anywhere.

The Internet is making the world of learning smarter -- and more profitable.

Students who took online courses scored an average 10% higher on tests than peers who received extra instruction face-to-face, according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Education that analyzed more than 1,000 studies conducted from 1996 through 2008. That's good news for eduFire, a San Francisco firm that provides Internet-based tutoring for entrepreneurs as well as students.

Founded in 2007 by serial entrepreneur Jon Bischke, eduFire offers low-cost live lessons via videoconferences and text chats. There are up to 200 classes per day, covering everything from conversational Spanish to the history of Iran. Students with similar interests can video- and text-chat for free. That, Bischke and his five employees say, is where much of the learning happens.

In September eduFire launched its Business Channel, featuring several courses in entrepreneurship. Sample classes include 10 Things You Need to Build a Great Company, by e-learning expert Mark Dowds, and former Google, Fortune 500 manager Niniane Wang's How to Rock an Engineering Interview. EduFire has attracted more than 50,000 registered users so far. Sign up is free; members who choose to take classes can pay per class or pay $29 a month for unlimited access. About 10,000 users have take a class in 2009.

Bischke knows he needs to bring more teachers to the service.

"This model flips education on its head," Bischke says. "Most brick-and-mortar colleges and universities pay teachers only 15% of all revenues. We're giving ours 85%."

Online education can't fully replace in-person learning. "It's not a silver bullet," says Barbara Means, who led the DOE study.

But Bischke says his marketplace of courses will open the door to a whole range of experts who never considered themselves educators. He remembers his fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Haughland, a notoriously tough grader who gave him an A+. Bishke's aim: to create a new generation of Mr. Haughlands.

Correction: An earlier version of this article said that eduFire had 50,000 paying subscribers. Fortune Small Business regrets the error.

COMMENTARY:  Looks like online education and tutoring is really starting to take off.  Are you listening University of California students?  At $29.00 per month up to 200 courses furnished online, that's a freat deal. See, "HOW TO get an Ivy League education for FREE", appearing on Twitter. Here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/ylj9vr8    

Courtesy of an article originally appearing in Fortune Magazine Small Business Forum

 

VENTURE CAPITAL DISPATCH FOR NOVEMBER 24, 2009

For the best articles on venture capital, including venture capital profiles, venture capital fundings, hot industry sectors, marketing strategy, technology, clean-tech, company profiles, mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, licensing and franchising deals, rumors, gossip and other tidbits, we recommend VentureWire's Venture Capital Dispatch. The following are some informative articles for your reading pleasure:

• The Baby Sitter Wars and Twitter Views The IPO Market With Some Reluctance
• Real Time Data Start-Ups Carve Out Niches As Revenue Question Looms
• Liquidation Preferences Creating Concern As Exit Values Fall
• Rise in Stock Market Has Start-ups Dreaming of an IPO
• Wind Turbine Producers Now Looking At Residential Sector
• Who Has The Power -- The VC or The Entrepreneur?
• QuinStreet Files SEC Paperwork For IPO After All
• Start-Up Employees Tell All … In 140 Characters Or Less
• How Education Startups Akademos and Flat World Knowledge Plan On Reducing The Cost of College Textbooks
• Addrenex Pharmaceuticals Acquired By Sciele Pharma Inc And How VC's Let That Deal Slip Away
• VC Funded Startup Fortinet Impresses Investors With High Returns In IPO Debut
• Ready Financial Group, Inc Launches Prepaid Bank Debit Card While Congress Targets Banks For Overdraft Fees
• Cleantech Investors Tweak Strategies But Still Moving Forward
• Valuations Hold Steady, Though First-Round Prices Plummet
• As Funds Get Smaller, Norwest Venture Partners Raises $1.2 Billion VC Fund
• Digg CEO: Profitability Is Not A Problem Anymore
• Start-Ups Linking TV To The Web Talk Business Models
• Rock You's $50 Million Funding Sparks VC Investments in Social Gaming
• Corporate VCs In China Holding Investment Advantage
• Outright.Com Raises $5.5M From Sequioa Capital While Solving A Problem Experienced By Sequoia's Partners
• HThree Startups Raise A Total of $105 Million During Global Entrepreneurship Week
• Dawntreader Keeps Treading With Gizmo5 Sale To Google
• Voxeo Corp, Maine-Based Internet Communications Startup, Raises $9M From VC's In Florida

Courtesy of VentureWire's Venture Capital Dispatch

LINKED IN OPENS UP TO OUTSIDE DEVELOPERS--FINALLY

 

Unlike broader social networks such as Facebook and MySpace, LinkedIn hasn't raced to open its doors to third-party developers or partners. That has started to change recently, with its move this month allowing users to incorporate their Twitter accounts into LinkedIn profiles and vice versa.

Now, the professional networking site is going further, opening up its technology to third-party developers that want to extend LinkedIn to their own sites and applications. The aim is to give users easier access to accounts through their own company sites and make LinkedIn a standard part of Web-based business apps.

Think of this as LinkedIn's answer to Facebook Connect, the service that lets users log onto third-party sites using their Facebook ID. By opening up its APIs, LinkedIn hopes to make its network portable as well.

"Professionals around the world use a wide variety of applications and Web sites to get their work done, and they have spoken loud and clear that they want the ability to leverage their professional networks wherever they work," said Adam Nash, LinkedIn's vice president of search and platform products, in a blog post Monday announcing the move.

For outside sites, it means they can more easily connect with LinkedIn's affluent audience of 52 million users, more than half of whom make more than $100,000 a year. Corporate sites or Web publishers integrating LinkedIn also stand to broaden their reach and deepen engagement as users share articles or other site content within their networks.

"Essentially, LinkedIn is not just a destination anymore," said Jeremiah Owyang, a partner at digital strategy firm Altimeter Group. "You can take your network wherever you go on the Web." He added that the ability to search the LinkedIn user profile will also be possible from other sites or apps.

In response to questions posted to its developer site today, LinkedIn noted that the APIs released do not include LinkedIn features such as company profiles, job postings, events, and groups and discussions.

Some developers are already plugging into the LinkedIn platform. TweetDeck, for example, will now let users view status updates and reply to them, among other things, from within the Twitter application. And Microsoft is building LinkedIn into the 2010 version of Outlook email.

LinkedIn has also allowed some third-party apps on its own site, such as Amazon's program showing what books people in someone's network are reading. But the opening of its system is mainly geared toward pushing LinkedIn out rather than bringing developers into LinkedIn itself.

While LinkedIn has lagged in opening up its system, Owyang says the company's approach has naturally been more conservative due to its business-to-business orientation and because it's already profitable. "So, [LinkedIn] doesn't have to take big, bold steps," he said.

Last week, the company announced the launch of sponsored groups and other ad initiatives including the launch of Content Ads, a new format for companies to distribute content including white papers, blogs and RSS feeds. LinkedIn has used a combination of subscription and marketing and advertising services to build revenue.

COMMENTARY:  It is about time that LinkedIn open their API to outside developers.  I have always complained about LinkedIn's lack of widgets and apps.  I presently have my Twitter tweets appear on my LinkedIn profile.  This creates a lot of cross-traffic to my business website, Twitter and Facebook accounts. 

 

I do hope that LinkedIn does not treat their app developers like Apple has theirs. All-in-all, I believe LinkedIn is making the right move--it's about time.

 

Courtesy of an article dated November 23, 2009 appearing in MediaPost Publications Online Media Daily

SOLAR-POWERED PLANE MAKES PREPARATIONS FOR ROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT

Someday soon Bertrand Piccard is going to throw the switches on his Solar Impulse Foundation aircraft, tug back on the stick and pull it into the air. Then he'll fly it right around the world. The impressive technology demonstrator's just about to take its maiden flight. Let's hope it's not cloudy.

The Solar Impulse Foundation, cofounded by Piccard, has some loft goals about promoting research and innovative exploitations of renewable energy use in the aeronautics industry, getting the information and news about inventions out to the public, and promoting sustainable development. One route to doing this is to tackle the tricky challenge of flying around the world in a solar-powered aircraft, and that's exactly what the SIF set out to do in 2003--with building starting in 2007.

Several weeks ago the impressive-looking vehicle, dotted with 12,000 individual photovoltaic solar cells underwent some initial engine power tests, and last week it rolled down the runway in Switzerland under its own power in some low- and high-speed taxi tests to test out controls, handling, and the delicate undercarriage. Under a test-pilots command, ground speed reached 10 miles an hour, and conditions were almost right for a first flight. Instead the team played it safe, and that flight should happen some time this week, if all goes well. Playing it safe sounds particularly sensible when you learn that the Solar Impulse is the size of an Airbus, but weighs about as much as a mid-sized car.

Of course solar-powered aircraft are nothing particularly new: NASA's Pathfinder aircraft has been in the news for several years, and QinetiQ's Zephyr aircraft broke some world records when it was demonstrated to the U.S. Air Force last year. But both of those aircraft are designed for specific tasks--mainly loitering around a specific location at very high altitude for defense or communications-node purposes--and they're unmanned, which frees up their design to be very, very light.

Piccard's vehicle is important because when it flies, it'll be a very potent demonstration of how far solar-power technology has come: It's efficient enough to fly a person into the air under power, and then fly that pilot around the world. Of course Piccard isn't envisioning a future where we all hop into our solar sail-planes for the journey to work, pseudo-Jetsons-style. Instead it's supposed to act as a symbol, "almost a provocation" as the Web site puts it, that solar technology could have a valuable role in aviation, an industry that many finger as being a serious eco-threat, with its almost exclusive reliance on fossil fuel. Fingers crossed then that the first flight--and more important the first landing--goes well this week, since Piccard's six-year effort as resulted in just a single fragile airframe.

COMMENTARY: That's very, very impressive.  But, how will this type of solar-powered aircraft be practical for commercial flights.  Would you fly in a solar-powered aircraft?  Feel safe?

Courtesy of an article dated November 24, 2009 appearing in Fast Company

U.S. RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND CONSUMPTION FOR 2004-2008

Renewable energy consumption grew by 7 percent between 2007 and 2008, despite a 2 percent decline in total U.S. energy consumption (Table 1 - Below). Total renewable energy consumption increased by 487 trillion Btu to 7,301 trillion Btu. This is the highest level attained based on EIA estimates of renewable energy back to 1949, and is due to substantial increases in the use of biofuels, wind and solar energy. Renewable energy’s share of total U.S. energy consumption was over 7 percent in 2008, compared to 6 percent in 2004 (Figure 1 - Below).

Renewable energy is consumed across all 5 energy use sectors (Table 2 - Below). The two largest consuming sectors are electric power and industrial, though patterns are changing. In 2008, the electric power sector accounted for 51 percent of renewable energy consumption and the industrial sector 28 percent, down from 56 and 30 percent, respectively, in 2004. This was due in some measure to the substantial change in the transportation sector, whose share rose from 5 to 11 percent between 2004 and 2008. The gain was due to increased consumption of biofuels, primarily ethanol derived from corn, but also to a lesser extent biodiesel. Both are fuels needed to meet the Federal Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires an increasing supply of renewable fuels through 2022.

The Renewable Fuels Association reported that the number of operating ethanol refineries in the U.S. more than doubled in number from 81 in January 2005 to 170 in January 2009.^[1] Capacity was spread across the United States but concentrated in the midwestern states. These refineries were responsible for producing 220 million barrels, or 778 trillion Btu of fuel ethanol in 2008, up from 81 million barrels or 287 trillion Btu in 2004.^[2] When trade and stock changes are accounted for, ethanol consumption was 229 million barrels, or 809 trillion Btu in 2008. Related ethanol co-products and losses in the industrial sector increased from 210 to 562 trillion Btu between 2004 and 2008.

Biodiesel consumption declined from 46 trillion Btu in 2007 to 41 trillion Btu in 2008 due to the large volume of exports. U.S. domestic biodiesel production was actually up from 62 to 87 trillion Btu between 2007 and 2008.^[3]

Finally the two smallest sectors, residential and commercial, maintained their shares of total renewable energy consumption at 8 and 2 percent, respectively.

 

Table 1 - U.S. Energy Consumption by Energy Source - 2004 through 2008 (Quadrillion BTU's)
Energy Source	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Total	100.349	100.485	99.876	101.552	99.305
Fossil Fuels	85.830	85.817	84.690	86.174	83.436
Coal	22.466	22.797	22.447	22.748	22.421
Coal Coke Net Imports	0.137	0.045	0.061	0.025	0.040
Natural Gas1	22.931	22.583	22.224	23.628	23.838
Petroleum2	40.294	40.393	39.958	39.773	37.137
Electricity Net Imports	0.039	0.084	0.063	0.106	0.113
Nuclear Electric Power	8.222	8.160	8.214	8.458	8.455
Renewable Energy	6.260	6.423	6.909	6.814	7.301
Biomass3	3.023	3.133	3.361	3.597	3.884
Biofuels	0.513	0.594	0.795	1.025	1.413
Waste	0.389	0.403	0.414	0.430	0.431
Wood Derived Fuels	2.121	2.136	2.152	2.142	2.041
Geothermal Energy	0.341	0.343	0.343	0.349	0.358
Hydroelectric Conventional	2.690	2.703	2.869	2.446	2.453
Solar/PV Energy	0.065	0.066	0.072	0.081	0.091
Wind Energy	0.142	0.178	0.264	0.341	0.514
1 Includes supplemental gaseous fuels. 2 Petroleum products supplied, including natural gas plant liquids and crude oil burned as fuel. 3 Biomass includes: biofuels, waste (landfill gas, MSW biogenic, and other biomass), wood and wood derived fuels. PV = Photovoltaic. Notes: Data revisions are discussed in the Highlights section. Totals may not equal sum of components due to independent rounding. Data for 2008 is preliminary. Sources: Non-renewable energy: Energy Information Administration (EIA), Monthly Energy Review (MER) April 2009, DOE/EIA-0035 (2009/04) (Washington, DC, April 2009), Tables 1.3, 1.4a and 1.4b; Renewable Energy: Table 2 of this report.

 

Table 2 Renewable Energy Consumption by Energy Use Sector and Energy Source, 2004 - 2008 (Quadrillion Btu)
Sector and Source	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Total	6.260	6.423	6.909	6.814	7.301
Biomass	3.023	3.133	3.361	3.597	3.884
Biofuels	0.513	0.594	0.795	1.025	1.413
Biodiesel1	0.003	0.012	0.033	0.046	0.041
Ethanol2	0.299	0.342	0.462	0.580	0.809
Losses and Coproducts	0.210	0.240	0.300	0.399	0.563
Biodiesel Feedstock3	*	*	*	0.001	0.001
Ethanol Feedstock4	0.210	0.240	0.299	0.398	0.562
Waste	0.389	0.403	0.414	0.430	0.431
Landfill Gas	0.144	0.148	0.157	0.173	0.187
MSW Biogenic5	0.164	0.168	0.171	0.165	0.168
Other Biomass6	0.081	0.088	0.086	0.092	0.076
Wood and Derived Fuels7	2.121	2.136	2.152	2.142	2.041
Geothermal	0.341	0.343	0.343	0.349	0.358
Hydroelectric Conventional	2.690	2.703	2.869	2.446	2.453
Solar/PV	0.065	0.066	0.072	0.081	0.091
Wind	0.142	0.178	0.264	0.341	0.514
Residential	0.483	0.507	0.475	0.527	0.599
Biomass	0.410	0.430	0.390	0.430	0.490
Wood and Derived Fuels8	0.410	0.430	0.390	0.430	0.490
Geothermal	0.014	0.016	0.018	0.022	0.026
Solar/PV9	0.059	0.061	0.067	0.075	0.083
Commercial	0.118	0.119	0.117	0.118	0.123
Biomass	0.105	0.105	0.102	0.102	0.107
Biofuels	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.002	0.003
Ethanol2	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.002	0.003
Waste	0.034	0.034	0.036	0.031	0.032
Landfill Gas	0.002	0.003	0.004	0.003	0.003
MSW Biogenic5	0.025	0.025	0.026	0.021	0.022
Other Biomass6	0.007	0.007	0.007	0.007	0.007
Wood and Derived Fuels7	0.070	0.070	0.065	0.069	0.072
Geothermal	0.012	0.014	0.014	0.014	0.015
Hydroelectric Conventional	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.001
Industrial	1.860	1.883	2.005	2.048	2.056
Biomass	1.824	1.847	1.972	2.028	2.032
Biofuels	0.216	0.247	0.309	0.409	0.577
Ethanol2	0.006	0.007	0.010	0.010	0.014
Losses and Coproducts	0.210	0.240	0.300	0.399	0.563
Biodiesel Feedstock3	*	*	*	0.001	0.001
Ethanol Feedstock4	0.210	0.240	0.299	0.398	0.562
Waste	0.132	0.148	0.147	0.162	0.157
Landfill Gas	0.076	0.081	0.081	0.093	0.105
MSW Biogenic5	0.006	0.007	0.006	0.006	0.004
Other Biomass6	0.050	0.061	0.061	0.063	0.047
Wood and Derived Fuels7	1.476	1.452	1.515	1.457	1.298
Geothermal	0.004	0.004	0.004	0.005	0.005
Hydroelectric Conventional	0.033	0.032	0.029	0.016	0.019
Solar/PV	-	-	-	-	-
Wind	-	-	-	-	-
Transportation	0.295	0.346	0.484	0.614	0.833
Biomass	0.295	0.346	0.484	0.614	0.833
Biofuels	0.295	0.346	0.484	0.614	0.833
Biodiesel1	0.003	0.012	0.033	0.046	0.041
Ethanol2	0.292	0.334	0.451	0.568	0.792
Electric Power10	3.503	3.568	3.827	3.508	3.690
Biomass	0.388	0.406	0.412	0.423	0.423
Waste	0.223	0.221	0.231	0.237	0.242
Landfill Gas	0.066	0.065	0.073	0.077	0.079
MSW Biogenic5	0.133	0.136	0.139	0.138	0.141
Other Biomass6	0.023	0.020	0.019	0.022	0.022
Wood and Derived Fuels7	0.165	0.185	0.182	0.186	0.181
Geothermal	0.311	0.309	0.306	0.308	0.312
Hydroelectric Conventional	2.656	2.670	2.839	2.430	2.433
Solar/PV	0.006	0.006	0.005	0.006	0.008
Wind	0.142	0.178	0.264	0.341	0.514
1 Biodiesel primarily derived from soy bean oil. 2 Ethanol primarily derived from corn. 3 Difference between the energy in biodiesel feedstocks (principally soy bean oil) and the energy in biodiesel consumed in the transportation sector. 4 Difference between energy in ethanol feedstocks (primarily corn) and its coproducts (wet and dry distiller grains), and the energy in ethanol consumed in the transportation sector. 5 Includes paper and paper board, wood, food, leather, textiles and yard trimmings. 6 Agriculture byproducts/crops, sludge waste, and other biomass solids, liquids and gases. 7 Black liquor, and wood/woodwaste solids and liquids. 8 Wood and wood pellet fuels. 9 Includes small amounts of distributed solar thermal and photovoltaic energy used in the commercial, industrial and electric power sectors. 10 The electric power sector comprises electricity-only and combined-heat-power (CHP) plants within North American Classification System (NAICS) 22 category whose primary business is to sell electricity, or electricity and heat, to the public. MSW = Municipal Solid Waste. PV = Photovoltaic. * = Less than 500 billion Btu. - = No data reported.

Courtesy of the U.S. Energy Information Administration - Data for 2004 through 2008

 

WORLD OIL PROFILE BY COUNTRY FOR 2008

Have you ever wondered where the world's oil is being produced, who produces it, who consumes it and how much oil there is left?  You will find these answers below.

2008 TOP WORLD OIL PRODUCERS (MILLIONS OF BARRELS PER DAY)

Rank	Country	Production
1	Saudi Arabia	10,782
2	Russia	9,790
3	United States	8,514
4	Iran	4,174
5	China	3,973
6	Canada	3,350
7	Mexico	3,186
8	United Arab Emirates	3,046
9	Kuwait	2,741
10	Venezuela	2,643
11	Norway	2,466
12	Brazil	2,402
13	Iraq	2,385
14	Algeria	2,180
15	Nigeria	2,169

2008 TOP WORLD OIL CONSUMERS (MILLIONS OF BARRELS PER DAY)

Rank	Country	Consumption
1	United States	19,498
2	China	7,831
3	Japan	4,785
4	India	2,962
5	Russia	2,916
6	Germany	2,569
7	Brazil	2,485
8	Saudi Arabia	2,376
9	Canada	2,261
10	Korea, South	2,175
11	Mexico	2,128
12	France	1,986
13	Iran	1,741
14	United Kingdom	1,710
15	Italy	1,639

2008 PROVEN WORLD OIL RESERVES (BILLIONS OF BARRELS) 

	>200	Saudi Arabia  (262.3)
	100-200	Canada (179.2) Iran (136.3) Iraq (115.0) Kuwait (101.5)
	50-100	United Arab Emirates (97.8) Venezuela (80.0) Russia (60.0)
	25-50	Libya (41.5) Nigeria (36.2) Kazakhstan (30.0)
	10-25	United States (21.0) China (16.0) Qatar (15.2) Mexico (12.4) Algeria (12.3) Brazil (11.8)
	<10	78 countries
	0 (none)	-2 countries
		(s) = Less than 500,000 barrels

2008 TOP NET WORLD OIL IMPORTERS (THOUSANDS OF BARRELS PER DAY) 

Rank	Country	Imports
1	United States	10,984
2	Japan	4,652
3	China	3,858
4	Germany	2,418
5	Korea, South	2,144
6	India	2,078
7	France	1,915
8	Spain	1,534
9	Italy	1,477
10	Taiwan	939
11	Singapore	925
12	Netherlands	891
13	Belgium	706
14	Turkey	629
15	Thailand	572

2008 TOP NET WORLD OIL EXPORTERS (THOUSANDS OF BARRELS PER DAY)

Rank	Country	Exports
1	Saudi Arabia	8,406
2	Russia	6,874
3	United Arab Emirates	2,521
4	Iran	2,433
5	Kuwait	2,390
6	Norway	2,246
7	Angola	1,948
8	Venezuela	1,893
9	Algeria	1,888
10	Nigeria	1,883
11	Iraq	1,769
12	Libya	1,597
13	Kazakhstan	1,185
14	Canada	1,089
15	Qatar	1,085

COMMENTARY:  In point of fact, the U.S. is addicted to foreign oil. From my vantage point, and the view of many energy experts, our dependency on foreign oil is a real threat to our national security.  Just imagine if a major source of our oil were to be threatened or cutoff for some reason.  Not a pretty picture.

As a grad student in 1980, just after the formation of OPEC, the attack on our U.S. Embassy in Iran and taking of hostages, that we should not worry.  Experts claimed that we had at least 100 to 150 years of oil reserves, and that the world's future needs were secured.

Little did we know that due to a worldwide population explosion, fall of the Soviet Union and industrialization of China, that annual world oil consumption would nearly double.  Some experts now claim that we have 50 years oil reserves available in the ground.  Others put this figure at 30 years and some even say that by 2020 the amount of oil consumed will exceed the amount of oil produced. 

I have also been reading that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, is withholding information that their oil production has already peaked and that oil production from their fields is in decline.  Saudi Arabia is purposely withholding this information in order to prevent a worldwide "oil panic" and a collapse of the world's major economies due to the inevitable increase in oil prices. You think $4.00 a gallon of gas is bad, think again.  I don't know how much of this is truth or fiction, but you can clearly see that the gap between the number of oil barrels produced and consumed is very, very narrow.

There is no longer any doubt, that judgement day is coming, and the U.S. has the most to lose because we presently import 70% of our oil from foreign producers. The U.S. must get off that oil merry-go-round and move with great speed to cutback consumption through alternative and renewable sources and more efficient automobiles and power consuming devices. Some of this is already being done, but in terms of solar power production we still lag behind Germany and Japan.

Oil is not just a U.S. problem, it is a world problem.  The billions of tons of carbon emissions from oil are polluting our planet and endanger our very existence.  The U.S. is the world's largest polluter. The threat of global warming is real, and many environmentalists believe that the main culprit are hydrocarbon emissions. Cutting back on oil consumption is not just smart, but absolutely necessary in order to insure the planet's survival.  

So the next time that you fill your gas tank (me included), think about what you can do to reduce your oil consumption. 

Courtesy of the U.S. Energy Information Administration - Data for 2008